Generative AI in 2023: How Companies Utilized It
It seems that leading companies in the construction, travel, retail, healthcare, and energy production technologies have recognized the importance of artificial intelligence (AI) in improving productivity and modifying consumer behavior. However, these companies are simultaneously facing difficulties in bearing the high expenses associated with this technology, along with the lingering weaknesses that accompany it.
According to the report published by the American newspaper “The Wall Street Journal,” writer Bell Lynn emphasized that generative AI has garnered significant interest this year, as it is considered a pioneering technology in various economic sectors, promising to elevate productivity to unprecedented levels by performing numerous functions and enhancing work methods.
Nevertheless, due to the high cost of AI and the continuous need for specialized engineers in this field, alongside legal risks and the dilemma of respecting personal data, progress in this domain remains limited. Many cautious institutions experimenting with these new solutions have led to hesitance prevailing among numerous companies.
Despite this hesitance, there is no doubt that generative AI will completely transform the landscape of economic technologies. Some companies have begun incorporating generative AI into their operations for coding, programming, creating marketing content, and providing customer support.
By the end of 2023, various companies worldwide had spent $19.4 billion on generative AI. This amount, covering generative AI software and other associated equipment and services, is projected to surge to $151.1 billion by 2027, reflecting an 86.1% annual growth over four years.
The writer also highlighted five companies that have managed to find solutions for integrating generative AI into their products, including travel agency Expedia, healthcare system Mass General Brigham, and construction software company Bentley Systems.
Wyever: The New Interior Design AI Engineer
The author revealed that this company, based in Boston, uses generative AI to help customers redesign their living rooms. Customers simply need to upload a picture of their room, and Wyever’s AI software uses generative AI models to produce multiple versions and styles of how the living room could look after purchasing new furniture.
In addition to the design tool, Wyever has generative AI-enabled applications that improve productivity, proving to be economically viable. However, according to the company’s technology director, Fiona Tan, Wyever intends to continue relying on less costly machine learning models in some operations, as they can produce more effective visualization, predictions, and enhanced solutions compared to generative AI.
The interior design and decoration tool offered by Wyever is freely available to users and produces highly realistic images. However, since it relies on generative AI, it occasionally generates images containing unusual errors and flaws, such as tables with unnatural legs or occasional difficulty in determining the placement of windows and mirrors.
Schneider Electric: AI for Enhancing Energy Consumption
According to the writer, this company, one of the largest manufacturers of electrical and mechanical products, prefers the use of smaller, less energy-consuming generative AI models in limited ranges. The AI director at the company, Philip Rambach, emphasized that larger language models can summarize data and produce texts, but they are less efficient in forecasting and improving processes, thereby being both costly and energy-draining.
The writer pointed out that generative AI consumes massive amounts of energy from data processing centers, relying on increasingly costly electrical energy production. Generative AI could consume up to 3.5% of the world’s electricity by 2030, according to a study by the technology research and consulting firm Gartner.
Thus, Schneider Electric, which produces household electrical appliances, electric vehicle chargers, home automation systems, and energy management software, has chosen to rely on the much smaller and less energy-consuming ChatGPT 3.5 model.
Mass General Brigham: Data-Driven Diagnosis
The author mentioned that this company, located in Boston and affiliated with Harvard Medical School, uses generative AI to identify patients with common traits, assisting doctors with this information to treat patients based on successful experiences in similar cases.
The healthcare system of this company relies on AI-enabled medical imaging company “Analyze AI,” alongside other startups to introduce new solutions for this sector. The company is currently preparing to launch its first medical diagnostic products using generative AI in the first half of this year.
According to the company’s data science director and deputy medical imaging director, Keith Dreyer, this scientific field is rapidly advancing. Based on existing data, medical records, and patient dialogues, large language models can identify patients who share similarities.
While this solution was previously expensive, requiring seven years of training and millions of dollars to develop AI algorithms capable of analyzing images, it is now possible to train large language models within a few months.
Although this solution remains very costly, it is fast and, in the long run, cost-effective, especially since it can identify similarities between texts and radiographic images.
Expedia: Your Personal Travel Booking Assistant
Expedia relies on chatbot conversation robots to assist travelers by providing advice, recommendations, and technical assistance when making reservations. However, the company does not consider AI as a magical solution. According to Expedia’s CEO, Peter Kern, AI is merely an assistant that enables them to achieve their goals and explore new solutions, but the idea of asking AI to book a complete trip with all its details is an exaggeration.
Instead, Expedia, based in Seattle, aims to enhance the user experience during their travel bookings. For example, the company’s website will be able to answer customer questions based on their travel history and preferences, providing more personalized, realistic answers.
Bentley Systems: Sturdier Infrastructure and Automated Designs
The writer mentioned that this company, based in Exton, Pennsylvania, produces software for the construction and engineering sector. They are developing AI tools capable of formulating drawings and designs for project sites and infrastructures that are more responsive to environmental and sustainability challenges.
According to the company’s technology director, Julian Mout, Bentley Systems is currently assisting engineers in producing designs using generative AI, aiming for an AI assistant to engage engineers in 30 to 50% of this work.
In conclusion, generative AI has indeed begun to be used in the infrastructure sector to address cracks and corrosion in bridges and to predict when roads will require maintenance and restoration. Additionally, the large language models used by Bentley Systems are capable of analyzing vast quantities of data, including structural conditions, construction laws, physics laws, climate conditions, and the effects of new construction materials on future designs.
